First Name Basis
by Ciestess
Summary: He's so cute! Precious cinnamon roll! Want hug him! Hey, @ciestess how about a Hanataro friendship/little brother with protective big sister fic?


This OSW is a request from "lyla-heart" on Tumblr

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Hanataro was in a good mood. He'd just received a letter from Rukia about her travels in the world of the living and was on his way to his quarters, humming and smiling.

"Oh? Hanataro?" He stopped and looked up - it was Lieutenant Matsumoto! "It is Hanataro, right?"  
"Wh- ah, yes! And, um your Lieutenant Matsumoto of Squad 10, right ma'am? What's brings you here? I mean- of course you're here - why wouldn-"  
"Easy, kid!" She chuckled, "And just Rangiku is fine. No need to be so formal."  
"Ah-"  
"You seem pretty happy. Is that a love letter~?" She smirked at him, her eyes looking hungrily at the paper in his hand, eager for some gossip. Which girl from the Gotei 13…?  
"What!?" Hanataro jumped. He was sweating. "Uh, no! It's not like that! Rukia and I are just-"  
"Rukia? Kuchiki?!" Oh, this was juicy. Just _wait_ until she told-  
"NO! I mean, yes, it's from Miss Kuchiki, but we're just- just friends! No way someone like _her_ would _ever_ date someone like me, after all, ha ha…"  
Rangiku paused, looking the Squad 4 boy up and down.  
"Why not?"  
"Huh…?"  
"What do you mean 'someone like you'?"  
"Well…"  
Rangiku had seen this before. Of course.  
He was in Squad 4 - the grunts of the Gotei 13. They were notorious for being the worst in combat, and he wasn't exactly dispelling that image with his small stature and lack of muscles.  
"..." Rangiku smiled. She HAD been looking for something fun to do today, and nothing was more fun than building up somebody's confidence!  
"Hey, I was wanting to go shopping today, but I'd rather not go alone. Would you come with me?"  
"WHAT! No, I couldn't- I mean, I'm so busy, and-!"  
"Aw, come on! It'll be fun!" She hooked his arm in her's, and they set off for the nearest fashion store…

"I-I-I don't know about this, Miss Matsum-"  
"I told you, it's 'Rangiku' -And you look great!"  
He was wearing a simple outfit: Just some dark slacks and a light blue dress shirt. But the shirt collar came a bit lower than Hanataro was comfortable with. His hair was also slicked back with some inexpensive hair gel.  
They were finished with their shopping spree. They hadn't bought too much, since they both were short on time, having to get back to their quarters to finish last-minute work and sleep.

… Well, Hanataro did. Rangiku didn't seem worried about it, but she didn't want to push the boy too much past his comfort zone.

She had done a pretty good job, if she did say so herself! He was still nervous, clearly, but Rangiku didn't miss the way his back stood a little bit straighter - or how his mouth curved up, just a bit, when he saw himself in the mirror earlier.  
She knew this wasn't a permanent fix, but it was a good first step. And there were plenty more steps to come, since Hanataro had become Rangiku's new pet project! (Heaven help him -IF she remembered...)

The two heard a snort from their left. A group of three soul reapers (members of squad 11, it looked like) were clearly drunk - one of them A LOT more than the other two.  
"Whuz-ZAT?!" "Looks like a couple of hoes!" "The small ones your type, isn't he? Pffff!"  
"Ugh. _Great_."  
"Hey! *whistles*" They stumbled forward, eyeing them. The two somewhat-sober ones approached Rangiku, while the drunk one went to Hanataro.

Their breath reeked.

"Go home. I'm not in the mood right now." She glared at them.  
They were ignoring her. She had changed out of her uniform, or the three might have avoided this unfortunate situation.  
"Heyguyz. I thinky recognishe thish wone," the one inspecting Hanataro slurred to his companions. "Oh yeah! Your from squad four, aren't you?"  
All of three of them now surrounded the smaller soul reaper, cruel grins on their faces. "What are you dressed up for? Cleaning up garbage?" "Ha! Yeah, who are you trying to impress, runt?"

Hanataro wasn't talking. He was barely moving. _Rangiku had had enough_.  
She grabbed Hanataro and pulled him close to her, linking their arms again. She would NOT have them destroy all the progress that he had made today!  
"Thank you SO much for taking me out today, Hanataro!"  
The flirtatious look she was giving him snapped him out of his daze, "Wh-? L-L-Lieutenant M-Matsumoto?! What are you-!"  
"Aw, come oonnn…! I told you, just call me 'Rangiku'! No need to be so formal…" She made sure the idiots were paying attention.

Oh, they were. And they weren't happy.  
The impromptu "leader" (the one who was least drunk) swaggered (as best he could) forward in front of Rangiku again.  
"You don't really want to be with _him_, do you?" "Yeah, we're WAY stronger than him!" They had, apparently, completely missed that Hanataro had called her "Lieutenant." Or they might not have done what they did next.

One of them grabbed Hanataro and shoved him to the ground, and the others moved in to start kicking him.  
… They hadn't even pulled their feet back fully before Rangiku had knocked them into the nearby wall.  
"Yeah… I'm really not in the mood for this today," she muttered to herself, before turning back and pinning the "leader" to the ground with her foot. He was still in shock. "Hey! IDIOT!"  
He flinched, blinking up at her.  
"You're going to stay away from Hanataro from now on." He was still just _blinking_ at her. She drove her foot into his shoulder, and he grunted in pain, his eyes clearing just a bit. "Got it?"  
"Wh-why should I? He's just a-"  
"_The friend_ of a _Lieutenant_ \- who will personally chop off your tongue if you say another insult about Squad 4."  
The word "Lieutenant" finally seemed to click, and the man's eyes finally filled with recognition- and fear.  
"Y-y-y-y-YES Ma'am!"  
"Make sure your buddies know too."  
"OF COURSE, LIEUTENANT MATSUMOTO!" He gave a clumsy salute from his position on the ground, and Rangiku lifted her foot.  
She walked away, and Hanataro followed, quickly catching up.

"Y-you really didn't have to do that, lieutenant. I'm used to the-"  
"That's exactly why I DID have to do it." She turned to look Hanataro in the eyes, a warm grin on her face. "And really, how many times do I need to remind you. It's just 'Rangiku.'"

* * *

This is part of my "One-Shot Wednesday" project - I'm trying to write a one-shot every week that other people have requested! Original Requests one week, and Fanfic Requests the next.  
(Only Fanfic OSWs are posted on this site, however.)

To **vote for the next OSW**, go to my Tumblr ("CiestessDE"), Twitter ("Ciestess"), or my website (crossroadofinfinity. com) to find the current poll!

While I will try to keep track of all the requests I receive _regardless_ of how they're sent, you should send Fanfic Requests through the pinned tweet on my Twitter ("Ciestess"), and Original Requests through either my email (CiestessDE *at* gmail . com) or my P atreon (if you're a patron) if you want to make sure I see them.

Just about everything goes - I'll tell you if there's a problem. But** if you want to know more about how they work**, you can read about Original OSWs on my website (crossroadofinfinity. "com/" 2019/07/07/how-it-works/), and Fanfic OSWs in my profile.

So please send me ALL the ideas! I will make sure to recognize whoever's idea/request it was in the work – just ask if you want to remain anonymous.

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